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Thursday, August 14, 2008

After the strawberry feast at the Strawberry Farm @ Taman Agro Tourism/Cactus Valley, we moved down to Tanah Rata, for lunch. Yeah, desserts before the mains ...

The main bus terminal at Tanah Rata

T Cafe - Warmly Welcomes You? During daytime, this may NOT be what you desire as the hot and humid weather (yup, even in Cameron) is slightly forbidding ...

I was introduced to this cafe by TallGal during the previous visit. Supposedly popular for their scones, and apple pies, I found the Western and Asian fare they served were not up to par. But the strawberry scone was pretty good. That was 8 months ago.

The Eastern influence in the food, as well as the ambience was evident

After Googling around for good food BEFORE we set foot at Cameron Highlands, surprisingly, the unanimous votes go to T Cafe. Yup, it's THAT popular. Or over-rated. Depending on how you see it, and your experience at the place.

"Gee, how do I arrange 6 chairs to seat 10 ppl?"

No doubt the place is exuding a warmth and homely ambience, cozy enough for a satisfying meal, and bright enough for a good read while sipping on a cuppa. The seating capacity may be lacking, as the cafe occupies only the second floor, while Marrybrown is situated downstairs.

Aaahhh .... What better way to warm your hands than with a cup of CHINESE tea ... Huh?

The menu is quite impressive, serving Western and Asian food, from soups, sandwiches and chops to your everyday fried rice, noodles, and pasta. But their main selling point is their desserts, and they even cater to vegans, with a section of the menu tailored to their needs.

Claypot Chicken Rice

Sorry I could not remember the prices for most of the dishes, as the payment system is particularly interesting. You line up at the counter and pay before you leave, no receipts issued. Talk about self-service. Anyway, most of the Asian fare are below RM10, with most claypot noodles and rice around RM4.90 only.

The Claypot Chicken Rice was unlike your average serving, as the dish resembles fried rice in claypot, more than anything else. Still, it was satisfactory, with ample amount of chicken cubes, fried shallots, vegetables and egg. The claypot does impart a smoky aroma to the rice, while preserving the warmth of the grains.

Claypot Yee Mee (RM4.90)

Boiling in a claypot, the yee mee (Egg Noodles) arrived piping hot, perfect to warm the body in the cold weather. But as stated earlier, the weather just ain't what it was years ago. But still, sitting right by the windows did allow the breeze to reach us, else those indulging in their claypot meals would be sweating, a rare scenario at the highlands, no?

Fried Rice

I took a close up shot of the fried rice, but the portion was barely sufficient to feed a hungry ghost. I mean, human. And no, my itchy fingers did not pry the dish, as the rest were already eyeing my actions, hunger pangs screaming and all. But the response was positive, or was it?

Spaghetti Bolognese with Chicken

It struck me while I was browsing the menu, the Western fare is pricier, with chicken chops priced at around RM14.50, and the pasta selection at around RM9 each. I still remembered their lasagne was an abysmal affair, with tasteless, dilute tomato paste, and miniscule amount of beef, and cheese.

Mr Po ordered the fusilli (not spiralli as he had me believed ... hmmm) cooked with chicken bolognese, and the pasta came out disappointing. Again, the tomato paste was tasteless, too diluted, and spoiled what could have been a delicious meal.

Curry Chicken Rice

Dr ordered the curry chicken rice, an awkward choice, but rather befitting, as Cameron Highlands is also well-known for its Indian food. Probably the Indian community is aplenty, or curry does work its magic in the chilling weather.

Chicken Sandwich (RM3)

Still mighty bloated from the desserts, I ordered a simple chicken sandwich, and pleasantly surprised that the chicken is not your run-of-the-mill cold cuts, overnight, stripped (of its dignity) and shredded, but instead chicken cubes lightly pan-fried and served sandwiched between 2 slices of white bread, and partnered with the usual suspects of cucumber and lettuce. Quite tasty, but bear in mind eating the sandwich with bare hands may be a challenge, as the chicken pieces fell off and had to be 're-inserted' between the bread.

Hmm, strange that Motormouth can survive on sandwiches for lunch? .... Oh, that was not all !!

Moist Chocolate Cake (RM3.80)

Strawberry Scones (RM2.90)

Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice-Cream (RM5)

Yup, their desserts DID fare better, much better than the mains, scoring brownie points with the chocolate cake, and their ultra-famous scones and apple pies.

Topped with a dollop of fresh cream, the chocolate cake was moist, slightly decadent, but not too rich. Not to mention reasonably-priced as well. The strawberry scones are their forte, with dried strawberry bits, and served with cream. Sweet, crumbly, and with a hint of cinnamon (or at least that was what I think that flavour was), the scone is a must-try if you happen to drop by.

The apple pie with vanilla ice cream (RM3.60 for pie alone, but WHY?) scored well in my books, the crumbly pastry pairing well with the apple slices sandwiched between. Served warm, with dustings of sugar, the pie went really well with the vanilla ice-cream which though was frozen, but not to the point of freezing cold. A match made in heaven. Or in this case, made in the Highlands. ;)

Location : T Cafe on the upstairs of Marrybrown Restaurant, on the main road of Tanah Rata. You'll have to walk to the side of Marrybrown, and go up the stairs at the side. The extensive menu is printed on the white board downstairs, so you can make your decisions BEFORE entering the cafe, for fear of embarassing yourself if suddenly you decide to order banana leaf curry rice. Or something.

After the reasonably 'light' lunch, we were off to our next destination. It was already 2.30 pm, guess where we headed to? ....

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Who's Motormouth?

I hail from Ipoh, Perak with a strong desire to share the best of Malaysian food, and the endless chapters of my personal travel stories. Currently writes at www.j2kfm.com. And I am residing in KL/PJ now.